Established in 1967, the Minnesota State University Student Association (MSUSA) is an independent, non-profit organization funded and operated by students. MSUSA serves nearly 70,000 students attending Minnesotas seven state universities: Bemidji, Mankato, Metropolitan (St. Paul/Minneapolis), Moorhead, St. Cloud, Southwest (Marshall) and Winona.
MSUSA has been a strong voice for state university students on the campus, system, state and federal levels for over 40 years.

Subscribe To

Monday, March 14, 2011

Legislative Update 3/7 - 3/11

Republican leadership announced the budget targets this week. SenateMajority Leader Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, said government needs to livewithin their means. She said leadership implemented aggressive budgetdeadlines, and now the targets are turned over to committee chairs whowill work to meet the March 25 deadline.

For higher education, the budget target is about a 16 percentreduction, which brings the proposed spending level for all of highereducation to $2.505 billion. Gov. Dayton's budget proposal for highereducation puts the fiscal year 2012-13 spending at $2.745 billion, adifference of $240 million.

We now turn our attention to the higher education committees in theSenate and House to see how they recommend spreading the cut. Republican leaders said today that the finance committees will be working overtime to put together the budget bills. The Senate Higher Education committee has said they expect to pass a budget bill March 23, and the House Higher Education committee has indicated discussion of a budget bill in committee on March 22. Senate Finance Chair Claire Robling, R-Jordan, said, "This earlier deadline will allow us to get done on time, and Ithink you are going to see that."

In addition to the state government cuts, the House’s budget planincludes cuts of $300 million in income taxes for low and middle classMinnesotans, and the Senate plan includes $200 million in tax cuts forbusinesses.

Gov. Mark Dayton’s spokesperson Katharine Tinucci said the governorbelieves a budget is a reflection of values and priorities, and thesecuts will hurt school children, taxpayers, businesses and seniors. HouseWays and Means Committee Chairwoman Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville,described the dilemma facing lawmakers and the governor, "We have verydiverse beliefs about what is best for the state. I’m not sure how weare going to resolve it."

Tuition freeze bill receives second hearing

The bill that freezes tuition for the 2012-2013 biennium at theMinnesota State Colleges and Universities and the University ofMinnesota, was heard in the House Higher Education Policy and Financecommittee this week. The bill was heard previously in the Senate HigherEducation committee. HF 856, introduced by Rep. Chris Swedzinski,R-Ghent, also holds tuition increases to the annual percentage increasein the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, for every year thereafter.Swedzinski said the bill provides long-term tuition guidance forstudents and their families.

Travis Johnson, President of the Minnesota State College StudentAssociation, or MSCSA, said his organization does not support a tuitionfreeze, but rather a tuition cap, and said he would like to see apredictability measure in place going forward. Johnson said tuitionincreases should be limited to ensure a college education remainsaffordable.Andrew Spaeth, Chair of MSUSA spoke to the growing concern of tuition costs. He said, “If we continue on the same path as we have been going my youngest brother will pay double what I paid for my college education.”

Russ Stanton, Director of Government Relations with the Inter FacultyOrganization, or IFO, testified against the bill and said the IFOadvocates for low tuition. Stanton said the Minnesota State Colleges andUniversities system is a highly efficient system and tuition rates areamong the lowest in the state. He said the IFO does not like the idea ofsetting tuition rates in the public arena, but rather should be left upto the Board of Trustees.

Dawn Reimer, Chief Finance and Facilities Officer at North HennepinCommunity explained to committee members that a tuition freeze will havea significant impact on the college's students and employees. Reimersaid students come to the colleges and universities in the MinnesotaState Colleges and Universities system because of the system's highquality instructors, innovative programs, and state-of-the-artfacilities, labs and technology. With a tuition freeze and cuts to stateappropriations, Reimer said growth in innovations and new programs atthe college will be limited, physical improvements will be stalled, andquality education will be compromised.

Remier told committee members that the Board of Trustees currentlymakes final tuition decisions based on data provided by the colleges anduniversities, and the Board requires each institution to consult withits students concerning its tuition and fee proposals. Remier said atNorth Hennepin Community College, Budget Task Force meetings are held with employees and students to work on the budget; and ensures budget cuts, operating efficiencies and other revenues are incorporated into the budget before tuition rates are determined.

As the committee begins to craft its omnibus bill, this bill was laidover for consideration.

Higher Ed Veterans Assistance Program Receives Hearing in the SenateThe Senate State Government Innovation and Veterans Committee heard SF449 this week. Representatives from The Dept. of Veterans Affairs and MSUSA and MSCSA testified in favor of extending the program. MSUSA Director of Government Relations reminded the committee that passing the bill does not mean the program gets funded and that the Committee should work hard over the next few weeks to ensure the funding for this crucial program remains intact. Gov. Dayton included funding for the program in his budget.All eyes are on Washington as March 18 draws near

With Congress passing a continuing resolution last week to fund thefederal government at fiscal 2010 levels until March 18, the U.S. Houseand Senate work to pass a bill before next Friday. Senate AppropriationsChairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, introduced a continuing resolutionthat maintains funding for many higher education programs at fiscal year2010 levels. You may recall the House passed legislation that cuts $61billion in spending, including higher education.

Today, House Republicans released a three-week continuing resolution tokeep government operating that cuts $6 billion in spending. In order toavoid a government shutdown, a short-term funding bill is almostunavoidable, especially with negotiations between the House Republicans,Senate Democrats and the White House at a stalemate. HouseAppropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky, said, "This is simply an extension to give negotiators more time." The House bill isexpected to be voted on Tuesday.

Public policy agenda for the American Association of State Colleges andUniversities

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities, or AASCU,has released their legislative priorities and positions on highereducation issues at the federal and state levels. AASCU has said theiradvocacy efforts in 2011 will focus on the policy principle of"Delivering America’s Promise" in four policy areas including;affordability, access and attainment, accountability, andcompetitiveness. To learn more about the four areas of AASCU’s publicpolicy agenda, go to: http://www.aascu.org/ppa/2011/.This week at the Capitol MSUSA Director of Campus Organizing will testify against the Voter ID proposals in the Senate. Expect most of the focus to be on budget work now, and we’ll soon see how drastic the cuts to MnSCU will be.